·Use of latest power flow management techniques will further minimise costs at wind farm

·Removal of the Intermediate Electrical Compound is welcomed by Orby Parish Council

The team behind the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm have confirmed that they have been able to remove the Intermediate Electrical Compound (IEC) from their final design.

The IEC, which was originally planned to be built near Orby in Lincolnshire, would have had a footprint of around 1.8 hectares and was considered necessary to manage power flows along one of the longest, high voltage, underground cable routes in the world. But based on technical modelling and subsequent collaboration between the project team and contractors, the IEC has now been designed out of the electrical system altogether and will not be built.

The CfD(1) winning project, marked as one of the best low-cost offshore wind farms in the UK, is being developed as a joint venture between innogy (50%) and Statkraft (50%), with innogy managing the project on behalf of the partnership.(2) Triton Knoll said that removing such large infrastructure has helped further reduce the cost of generating energy from the wind farm, and would also remove a key concern for local people, raised during the planning process.

Project director James Cotter said: “We are so pleased to be able to announce this. It’s great news for local people in Orby; the change in design addresses issues raised during the planning process, and will reduce the overall visual and construction impacts of the project in the local area.

“It’s also great news for UK energy consumers as the removal of the IEC helps the project make significant cost savings which in turn is helping drive down electricity bills.”

Executive Councillor, Economy and Place at Lincolnshire County Council, Colin Davie said: “I warmly welcome the announcement that the visual impact of an Intermediate Electrical Compound at Orby has been removed, and also the continued commitment of Triton Knoll to keep traffic disruption in the area to a minimum.

“Lincolnshire County Council will continue to work closely with the Triton Knoll project team and Orby Parish Council to help ensure that this beautiful part of Lincolnshire remains exactly that. In addition, we will work with the Local Liaison Committees to ensure that the communities between Anderby and Bicker that host this major UK infrastructure project are kept informed of developments.”

Locally, the change in design will reduce the level of construction traffic required to build the IEC. A smaller haul road than originally planned will also now be possible, reducing the width of the cable route between the A158 and IEC site by 6 metres. This design change means that project infrastructure in the proximity of Orby (the works are located 3.5km away from the village) is now expected to be limited to the underground cables and joint bays.

Triton Knoll remains committed to ensuring that no construction vehicles will travel through the village of Orby.

The innovative thinking behind the redesign is due to the technological expertise and experience that exists within the Triton Knoll project team, coupled with the expertise of its contractors who confirmed the feasibility of removing the IEC during initial detailed design works.

Electrical System Lead Engineer Mick Chowns explained: “We utilised our internal expertise and access to advanced power system modelling software, to challenge everything from the cable capacity, design and manufacture, its installation and the dynamics of the power network. This meant we could optimise the power flows without the need for an IEC. Then we applied a collaborative strategy with our contractors, and challenged them to demonstrate that they could deliver such a solution.”

The project will be located approximately 32km off the Lincolnshire coast and 50km off the coast of North Norfolk. It has consent to install almost 60 kilometres of onshore underground export cable, and a new substation near Bicker Fen.

Triton Knoll was awarded a Contract for Difference on Monday 11 September 2017.

In July 2013, the Secretary of State granted consent for the offshore array element of the project (turbines, offshore substations, inter array cables etc). In September 2016, the Secretary of State also granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the Electrical System (ES) which connects the power generated from the offshore array into the national grid onshore. The ES consent includes the offshore export cable, the onshore underground export cable, an intermediate electrical compound at Orby, and a new substation at Bicker Fen, ultimately ensuring the delivery of energy potentially into an anticipated 800,000 UK homes once the wind farm is fully operational.

Statkraft is a leading company in hydropower internationally and Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy. The Group produces hydropower, wind power, solar power, gas-fired power and district heating and is a global player in energy market operations. Statkraft has 3800 employees in more than 20 countries.

innogy SE is Germany’s leading energy company, with revenue of around €44 billion (2016), more than 40,000 employees and activities in 16 countries across Europe. With its three business segments Grid & Infrastructure, Retail and Renewables, innogy addresses the requirements of a modern, decarbonised, decentralised and digital energy world. Its activities focus on its
23 million customers, and on offering them innovative and sustainable products and services which enable them to use energy more efficiently and improve their quality of life. The key markets are Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as several countries in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe, especially the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. In renewable power generation, the company is also active in other regions, e.g. Spain, Italy and the MENA region (Middle East, North Africa), with a total capacity of 3.7 gigawatts. As a leader of innovation in future-oriented fields like eMobility, we are represented in the international hot-spots of the technology industry such as Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, London and Berlin. We combine the extensive expertise of our energy technicians and engineers with digital technology partners, from start-ups to major corporates. With planned capital investments of around €6.5- €7.0 billion (2017-2019), we are building the power market of the future and driving forward the transformation of the energy market.

innogy is colourful, flexible and full of energy – let’s innogize!

RenewablesWith an installed capacity of more than 900 megawatts in offshore wind and with over 1900 megawatts in onshore wind, innogy is one of the major operators in Europe. We plan, build and operate plants to generate power and extract energy from renewable sources. Our aim is to take the expansion of renewables in Europe further in the short term, both on our own and working with partners. We believe that working together in this way is the key to making the energy transition a success. Currently, we are particularly strongly represented in our home market, Germany, followed by the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland. At the moment we are focusing on continuing to expand our activities in onshore and offshore wind power. We are also looking at entering new markets and technologies, such as large-scale photovoltaic plants.
Further information: www.innogy.com

(3) Energy Generation

It is estimated that the average annual generation expected at the site could be equivalent to the approximate domestic needs of an expected minimum of 800,000 average UK households.

Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area and correlated with long term reference data. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent figure may change as further data are gathered.

Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4100 kWh. This figure is supported by recent domestic electricity consumption data available from The Digest of UK Energy Statistics and household figures from the UK National Statistics Authority.”